1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impact wrench caddy or mobile impact wrench carrier used for supporting a heavy duty impact wrench for operation in a generally horizontal orientation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the trucking industry and in other industries that involve the operation and maintenance of heavy duty vehicles equipped with very large tires, heavy impact wrenches are utilized to remove and install the lug nuts that are used to hold the tire frames onto the vehicle wheel mounts. The impact wrench is pneumatically driven by a high-pressure pneumatic source.
An impact wrench of the type utilized for removing and reinstalling lug nuts on heavy duty vehicles typically weighs about thirty-five pounds, excluding the weight of the trailing pneumatic hoses and socket attachments coupled thereto. In order to change a vehicle tire on a heavy duty vehicle, such as an eighteen wheel truck, the portion of the truck bearing the wheel first must be jacked up. This lifts the wheel off the ground. The person changing the tire must then lift the impact wrench, hold it in a generally horizontal position, and operate the impact wrench so as to remove the lug nuts from the tire. In conventional practice these heavy duty impact wrenches are usually lifted manually, typically by a single person.
Due to the heavy weight of the impact wrench, considerable strength is required to lift it and also to operate it in a generally horizontal orientation. In the large vehicles with which impact wrenches of this type are utilized the highest lug nut of a vehicle tire may be as much as three feet above the surface when the vehicle wheel is elevated for removal of the tire. Thus, an individual operating the impact wrench must lift and hold the impact wrench at approximately waist level to operate it so as to remove or reinstall the highest lug nuts holding the tire frame to the wheel support. Furthermore, the impact wrench operator must either bend over or crouch down to remove the lower lug nuts while holding and operating the impact wrench in a generally horizontal disposition.
It is extremely tiring for a person to operate an impact wrench in this manner. By manually holding the impact wrench in an elevated, generally horizontal position, and operating it in this position, a user's back is put under a considerable strain, thus leading to a significant likelihood of back injury. Many back injuries in fact do occur as a result of operation of a heavy duty impact wrench in this manner. These injuries cause not only human suffering, but also result in increased medical claims and insurance premiums for the employers involved. Furthermore, it is often difficult to hold the impact wrench aloft in this manner, and to control it accurately. Thus, a misguided impact wrench can damage the lug nuts and cause other injury.